3 Fast, Easy Christmas Day Workouts

In a recent article, I introduced the concept of “limiting the damage” from eating high amounts of calories. And while the nutrition strategies and supplements outlined in that article can certainly come in handy, it’s useful to have a few quick exercise tools up your sleeve to squeeze in a few Christmas Day workouts anywhere, anytime.

So when you feel stuffed full of egg nog, turkey, mashed potatoes, and holiday cookies (or even better, before that feeling occurs—since exercise is a potent appetite suppressant), you can politely excuse yourself and find a quiet corner in the house or step outside for any of the following:

50 “Air” Deadlifts—The deadlift is a traditional full-body weight training exercise. Here’s what it looks like. But since you may not have a barbell hanging around your house this holiday season, just pretend you’re holding the barbell. I like to get low enough so that when I’m squatting down I can get my hands on the floor—the greater the range of motion, the more calories you’ll burn.

50 Mountain Climbers—This quick exercise (video here) will boost your heart rate while also working your upper body and abs. Do them fast if you can, but you’ll still get benefit even if you’re so full of holiday cheer that you need to do them slowly.

25 Lunge Jumps—Not for the faint of heart, this exercise (video here) will keep your legs burning and heart rate elevated for a long time after you finish. Try to jump as high as you can and if you really want to make things tough, hold a light set of dumbbells as you churn these out.